August 7 – Daily Notes – Amanda

Obedience is a tricky thing. We often want to obey partially, but that is actually not obedience. The good news is, as our proverb tells us today, we have the Holy Spirit to act a little like bumpers on a bowling lane when our obedience starts to slip. Thank goodness for all the checks and balances God has put in place for us.

Ezra 5:1-6:22:

6-17 – King Cyrus had approved the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, but King Artaxerxes, his predecessor had halted the progress. Now the leaders trying to get it built again were appealing to Darius to allow them to search for the gold and silver vessels used in worship in the original temple.

6-12 – King Darius makes a decree putting all the building plans back in progress.

16-22 – It would have been a huge celebration for the Israelites to return to their land, dedicate the temple, and celebrate Passover again. It is hard for us to relate to how significant that would have been for them.

1 Corinthians 3:5-23:

5-9 – This is great encouragement for people investing in the faith growth of the next generation or anyone really. We are called to be faithful in giving them the information they need. God is responsible for growing it and making it flourish.

16-17 – It matters how we treat the dwelling place of the Lord. This is both true of our physical bodies as well as our holistic health.

Psalm 29:1-11:

We are quick to minimize the power and majesty of God. We look to other things in our lives, or even ourselves, to do the work of God. This psalm reminds us of the power of God and how he should be praised for it.

Proverbs 20:26-27:

27 – It is the Spirit’s job to test our hearts and help convict us in the places where we are not obeying God.